WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – The United States’ commitment to at-risk Afghans extends beyond President Joe Biden’s Aug 31 deadline to withdraw from the country, a senior State Department official said, adding that the promise of safe passage did not have “an expiration date.” “Our commitment to at-risk Afghans doesn’t end on August 31,” the official told […]
Did you hear it rained a lot the other day? Well, it did. Let’s start with the record books. The rainiest hour on record in New York City (1.94 inches from 10 to 11 p.m. on Saturday) produced the rainiest Aug. 21 on record (4.45 inches), which was followed immediately by the rainiest Aug. 22 […]
KABUL/WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – With thousands of desperate Afghans and foreigners crowding into Kabul airport in the hope of fleeing Afghanistan’s new Taleban rulers, US officials said on Monday (Aug 23) they were scrambling to figure out how to extend a looming Aug 31 deadline to airlift Americans and their allies to safety. Biden warned on […]
Full federal approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for those 16 and older is opening the way for institutions like the military, corporate employers, hospitals and school districts to announce vaccine mandates for their employees. National medical groups hailed the step. A joint statement by the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association and American Nurses […]
When Zel was a 17-year-old aspiring singer, she was eager to meet R. Kelly, she said, and hoped that the R&B star could help jump-start her professional career. She received his phone number at a music festival and was told she could audition for him, she said. But after she arrived at his hotel, Mr. […]
The defendant was charged with a number of minor crimes, including drug possession and shoplifting. He was prepared to plead guilty, and prosecutors agreed. But a Bronx judge approving the deal added his own unusual condition. The defendant had to get a Covid-19 vaccine. A week later, a Manhattan judge made the same order, this […]
Their movement started discreetly, just a handful of people communicating on encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Signal. But in just days it had ballooned tenfold. And within two weeks, it had turned into a full-blown public protest, with people waving picket signs to denounce efforts to push them to receive coronavirus vaccines. But these were […]
Adam Sobel is a professor and director of the Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate at Columbia University. He is an atmospheric scientist and host of the “Deep Convection” podcast. As the forecast for Hurricane Henri has evolved over the past few days, attention has focused on where the storm will make landfall and the […]
The urgent pleas for donations to help Haiti cope with last Saturday’s magnitude 7.2 quake began almost immediately: Charities reported an initial outpouring of generosity for a poor country that has long depended on philanthropic aid. But the longer-term outlook for securing the billions of dollars needed — not only to rebuild but also for […]
A toxic algae bloom is under investigation as one of the possible causes after an entire family of hikers were found dead on a remote trail in California. Police are looking into whether water they drank may have been poisoned by the algae or whether other hazards may have contributed to the deaths. John Gerrish, […]